Stocktake: Markets won’t miss Trump

Donald Trump has gone. Can the market survive without its saviour? LPL Research notes Trump's favourite measure, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, averaged annualised gains of 11.8 per cent during his tenure.

For all Trump’s market boasting, that’s decent but unremarkable – better than the two Bush presidents, almost identical to Reagan’s eight-year term, slightly less than Obama, much less than that seen during the Clinton presidency.

Trump did set one notable market record, however. The S&P 500 gained 14.3 per cent between election day and Joe Biden’s inauguration last Wednesday, the biggest such surge in history. Wednesday’s 1.4 per cent gain was also the second-best inauguration day performance in history.

Markets’ message to Trump is clear: no, you won’t be missed.